elementary

04/03/2010

There's this thing we booksellers do all the time: we sell books we've never read. We're pretty sure they're really good, and we're pretty sure we'd enjoy them if we ever got to them, but for one or twelve reasons or another we haven't. However, they seem to fit a niche, so sell them we do. FABLEHAVEN was in that category for me until yesterday. And now it is not! Brandon Mull is one of the authors Pudd'nHead has coming this spring, and I would like to review something by each of them on this blog between now and their appearance. Brandon's not the first author we're having, but I've actually chosen this book to kick off my new fantasy/otherworldly book club at the store, so I read it first and am thusly reviewing it first! Now that I've read it, of course, I honestly can't believe I missed out on it for four years. (And I want to read the sequels, which is a problem, because I barely have time for the first book in a series.) I'm really looking forward to discussing this with the kids (and having Brandon at the shop). Kendra and Seth are being packed off to grandparents they barely know while their parents go on a cruise. They've never been to their grandparents' house; no one in the family really has. They're told their grandmother is away; their grandfather is a little odd and has a lot of rules they have to follow. When Seth breaks the rules (something he's going to do a lot), they begin to learn the truth about their grandparents: they are caretakers of Fablehaven, a secret sanctuary for mythical creatures. Their grandfather brings them into the fold, but Seth's continued overactive curiosity soon puts not just Fablehaven in danger, but also their family...and, possibly, the world. I love the characters here. Kendra and Seth have an awesome, believable relationship, with exactly the right amount of bickering and affection. Lena, their grandfather's housekeeper, may be my favorite character - except she has to vie with their grandfather. The setting unfolds slowly, with a great balance of secrecy and surprises. There are awesome moments of humor (wait until the fairy broker shows up). There ARE a lot of secrets here, so I don't want to say much if you too have missed out on this great series. But this would be a great read-aloud for families - good adventure, good characters, a little mystery, a little creepiness, some humor, and some wonderful plotting. It's good for kids reading up and for anyone who loves the SEPTIMUS HEAP books, GREGOR THE OVERLANDER, CHILDREN OF THE LAMP etc. Now that I've read it, I'm even more eager to sell it. (Incidentally, how I would handsell it was basically like this: "FABLEHAVEN is about what happens when siblings learn that their grandparents run a secret sanctuary for mythical creatures." A lot of handsells are exactly that short; that one worked a lot. )

09/15/2009

Grandmothers, mothers, teachers at all girls' schools, listen up.
(Well, librarians and other teachers listen up too.)
Here's that sweet little book that comes along once or twice a year and works its way into the hearts of its readers. That book that spreads itself out like the coziest of handknit blankets and wraps itself around you while you read it. That book that you open in front of a roomful of girls (or in front of your daughter, or granddaughter, or the little girl you babysit) and when you are done with the chapter you are reading, they beg you to read just a little more.
Sophie (11), Anna (9) and Trudie (7) live with their parents in an apartment on the Lower East Side in New York City. They live above the family business, Breittlemann's Doll Repair. Bisque and china dolls are very expensive, so the girls don't have any of their own, but they are allowed to play with the dolls that are waiting to be repaired by their papa. There are three dolls that have been waiting longer than most, unclaimed, and the girls have come to think of the dolls as "theirs."
Anna is our narrator, and her story is tinged with the unique frustrations and tribulations of the middle child:
I listen to their footsteps as they go, but I don't follow them right away. I want to be alone down here for a little bit. Sometimes it's hard being a middle sister, and I just need to be by myself. Sophie is smart and pretty and good at so many things; Trudie (her real name is Gertrude, though we never call her that) is little and cute and cries to get her way. I'm just the one sort of stuffed in between--at nine I'm not old enough to do some things, like light the kitchen stove, but too old to do others, like snuggle in Mama and Papa's bed on a cold morning.
Despite her feelings, though, and the family's relative poverty, theirs is a happy life. It is a loving family, and the girls love what their parents do, so they are happy to chip in with shop chores. School is also a source of happiness, as is their friendly Jewish neighborhood. And, of course, the time they are allotted to play with "their" special dolls is treasured. Anna often tells her private troubles to Bernadette Louise (the name she has given to "her" doll). The year passes, and is told in charming fashion.
On August 2nd, however, everything changes: Germany declares war on Russia. Although the war has not yet touched the United States, it begins to immediately affect Anna's family: the parts that Papa uses to fix the dolls come from Germany. Because Germany has declared war on Russia, the US has stopped trading with them. No more doll parts. No doll parts, no work for the doll repair shop.
The family comes up with some creative ways to survive the war, and Anna and her sisters grow through the experience. "Their" special dolls play an important part in both their growth and the story, as McDonough brings us beautifully to a satisfying and hopeful ending.
The reader gets a very nice portrayal of the 1930's Lower East Side and the experience of being Jewish at that time, in that neighborhood. It's not as big a part of the story as it is in ALL-OF-A-KIND FAMILY, but it's done in a very matter of fact way that I always appreciate. There's a lovely family relationship here, and the sibling rivalries, troubles and joys ring true. Most of all, we see Anna learn to be resourceful in some completely normal ways, which is refreshing. She's not super gifted - she's not a prodigy - but she's clever and creative in a way that comes from love for her family and a true desire to contribute in a difficult time. She's an excellent example for children without being obnoxious about it.
I think this book will have a long life.
(I also think it will sell better in paperback - this is one of those books that I wish had simultaneous hard and softcover print runs. Especially in this economy, it can be hard to get parents to spring for a $14.99 hardcover that's 116 pages long.)

08/04/2009

My dad was in the Navy, so when I was younger we moved a few times. Unfortunately for me, the two moves that took place after I began school both occurred in the middle of the school year. Middle of second grade, middle of fifth grade. This? Sucked. Everyone had chosen their desks, their lunch tables, their friend groups. In the fifth grade the musical had been casts, the safety patrol filled, the library aides assigned. So I know more than a little about how hard it is to be the new kid in the class - even if your classmates are nice to you - and I have a special fondness for books that portray those feelings accurately.
Nikki Grimes does just that in MAKE WAY FOR DYAMONDE DANIEL.
Dyamonde is in the third grade, and when her parents got divorced, she moved with her mom from their quiet Brooklyn neighborhood to a tiny apartment in Washington Heights. She likes her new neighborhood well enough, but misses her best friend and her bedroom and her school and her dad. Still, Dyamonde's a fighter, and she's bursting with the desire to fit in and make a new life for herself. And more than anything else, she wants a new best friend. One right here in her school, who she can sit with and play with and laugh with every day.
Enter Free. New boy. He's sullen and keeps to himself. When Dyamonde invites him to sit with her at lunch on his first day, he tells her to leave him alone. She secretly nicknames him "Rude Boy," but at the same time becomes kind of obsessed by figuring out what his deal is. Why won't he read out loud in class when Dyamonde's seen him reading books in the school yard? Why won't he sit with anyone at lunch? Why does he keep growling at everyone?
And even though Dyamonde projects confidence and Free projects anger, could they be the same deep down inside? Is Free the friend Dyamonde's been looking for?
I love Dyamonde and her whole little world. I love her spunk and her friendliness and her smarts and her determination. I think she's a great character to headline a series, and I highly recommend her.
I just wish that all early reader and elementary series like this were published simultaneously in hardcover and paperback. Unless you're talking about something like Magic Tree House, it is so hard to sell a book like this in hardcover. I understand that libraries and schools need these in hardcover so they don't fall apart easily, but parents of newish readers are often buying books frequently and are more likely to buy two paperbacks than one hardcover.
I think this issue is especially important because there are a billion inexpensive paperback series out there featuring little white children, and almost none with children of color. Children of color from well-off families are going to be able to get whatever books they want. Children of color from families that are not well-off are going to have to get a paperback book, if they get a new book, and if they want a book with a kid that looks like them on the front there are only going to be a couple of choices.
And I think, too, that children from poverty-stricken homes might just be the kids who need books with faces like theirs more than anyone else. They are the ones whose parents will be working so often and so hard that there won't be a lot of time at home to read together. They are the ones who might never become readers because the early reader window was missed. I think you have a greater chance of hooking some of these kids if they can look around at a selection of books and see more than a sea of white faces, and if that selection of books is more affordable to them.
(Please don't think that I am saying that elementary level books featuring children of color should all be published in paperback because all of those kids are poor - if that's what you're taking away from this then I've stated it badly. I think that elementary books in general should be published in paperback more often than not, and turning disadvantaged children of color into readers is only one of many reasons. It's a good one, but it's hardly the only one.)
This book was read as part of the Color Me Brown Book Challenge. Order this book from an independent bookstore!

07/17/2009

Oh, Owly, how I love you.
I was sent some review copies of OWLY graphic novels, and I am only too happy to sing their praises here. I can't believe I never have before. See, Owly (and his best friend, Wormy) and I are old friends now. I have an Owly shirt. I have a stuffed Owly (with stuffed Wormy on his head). And, thanks to the review copies, I now know there are more books than the two I had, and got to read them as well as revisit the first couple.
OWLY is a wordless graphic novel series that I would shelve in my elementary books if I had to be pinned down on a place, but obviously soft hearts of all ages will love it if I am sitting here telling you that I do (and I am closer to 40 than I'd like to discuss). It's the story of Owly, a little owl, and his best friend Wormy, and their adventures in their forest home. (I'm going to completely spoil the first novella for you, so you can see what sort of stories they are, but this isn't HARRY POTTER - knowing the plot isn't going to ruin your enjoyment.)
When we first meet Owly in THE WAY HOME, he is looking for a friend. He startles some birds into spilling their bowl of seeds and flying away, and with a sigh, he refills the bowl for them. When they don't return, he goes to investigate a sound he hears. Finding some fireflies in a jar, he releases them, but they too fly away. Then a hard rainstorm begins, and he finds a little worm clinging to some grass in the middle of a puddle, unable to swim to safety. Owly takes him home, tucks him into bed, and nurses him back to health.
When Wormy (for it is he) wakes up, he is first afraid of Owly, but quickly taken in by the owl's kindness. Owly wants Wormy to stay with him, but Wormy explains that he was separated from his family by the storm. Owly consults a map so he can take Wormy home. With the eventual help of the fireflies Owly set free early on, they find Wormy's family. Owly wins them over despite their initial fear, and after sharing a hearty meal, sadly sets off for home alone. But soon he hears a familiar voice, and turns to see Wormy behind him, all of his possessions tied up in a sack on a stick. Wormy's parents are waving goodbye, giving their son their blessing to strike out on his own. Owly helps Wormy up to sit on his head, and the friends (and now roommates) head for home together.
Runton's expressive art gives life to not only Owly and Wormy and their friends, but also to their thoughts and dialogue through the use of clever rebus-like thought and dialogue bubbles. If Owly thinks Wormy would be happy if he went outside, for instance, you'll get one bubble on one side of Owly's head with a picture of an open door, an arrow pointing outside, and an exclamation point; on the other side of his head will be a bubble containing a picture of a happy little sun, an equal sign, and a picture of Wormy with a big smile on his face. The only words that appear in these novels are sound words (like SPLASH if someone steps in a puddle) and words on anything that Owly & Co. might be reading, like books or letters.
You don't need words to follow the stories, and you don't need words to fall in love with the characters. Owly is, for lack of a better description, darn cute. I mean, really, really darn cute. Wormy might be even cuter. The birds are cute. The bunnies are cute. It's ALL cute, but not in a rot your teeth kind of way. Owly is a true friend to those he knows - loyal and loving, encouraging and warm. He's the kind of character you want your kids to fall in love with. Along the way, you'll fall in love with him too.
I can't wait to curl up with Molly and an Owly book, piecing the story together by looking at this art that I love, listening to her tell me what Owly and Wormy are doing next. Even though I'll have figured it out first, it'll be even sweeter sharing it with her. Share Owly with someone you love, or with anyone who could use a simple, lovely friendship series.
Order OWLY from an independent bookstore! (Link goes to book 1.)

04/10/2009

The first book in the Amelia Rules! series hilariously and heartbreakingly depicts the coming of age theme. The characterizations of Amelia, her parents, her aunts, her teachers, and her friends bring to life the chaotic existence of life's players through the eyes of a precocious and unforgettable 9-year-old girl.

The story is an episodic look at Amelia's life through a series of experiences and adventures, including surviving the hell of gym class as well as family holidays.

The writing is sharp and funny, and the illustrations are wild, colorful, and in the vein of a traditional comic strip. The book is quite entertaining and amusing and somehow also manages to impart the grief and isolation experienced by a child of divorce.

The intended audience is elementary school children, but the book can certainly be enjoyed by tweens, teens, and even adults, at whom the author winks throughout the book with references to Stan Lee, Elvis Costello, the Replacements, and Billy Joel.

This is an appropriate selection for any child who is suffering from the effects of divorce, and it beautifully demonstrates the "true spirit of Christmas" in a section of the book that made this reviewer cry into her cappuccino while reading at the coffee shop.

It's also a wonderful example of the age-old childhood theme of how one's friends can become one's family when young people feel alienated from most of the adults in their lives … these kids are almost like the elementary school version of the Brat Pack.

This book is hereby deemed by me to be an essential selection for all elementary school, middle school, and public libraries because of its ability to bring forth laughter and tears and to make lonely kids feel less alone.

At first glance, this book might seem silly and superficial, but its comic nature is tinged with sadness and realism, Amelia is ultimately introspective and wise, and the book conveys some great life lessons. One of the best lessons is from Aunt Tanner, who tells Amelia, "Any time you find magic in this world, you have to fight hard to keep it."

11/10/2008

In light of how much I adored past National Book Award winners True Believer and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian -- they rank among the top YA novels I've ever read in my life -- I decided to take immediate note of this year's finalists and read all of them. First up was The Underneath by Kathi Appelt, simply because it was the first one that arrived via interlibrary loan.

I started reading it in bed last night and had to force myself to close the book and set it aside, because forty pages in (it's an extremely fast read), I knew that if I went much farther I wouldn't be able to stop until reaching the end, and I am a woman who needs her sleep! On this lovely Sunday morning, I woke up, made coffee, crawled under a blanket, and lay on the couch in my pajamas for several hours finishing this book. And let me just say that it was wonderful. I was moved throughout and cried actual tears on several occasions.

It's hard to explain what a treasure this book is without giving too much away. I could say that it's about a dog, some cats, a snake, an alligator, trees, and birds, because it is about all of those things, but it is so much more.

I guess if I had to pick one thing this book is about, I would have to say that it is about family. It is how the unlikeliest of creatures can form a family, it is about how families are torn apart, it is about how families betray each other, die for each other, leave each other, lose each other, and find each other.

Even though these ideas are brought to life primarily by animals and other life forms in a swampy forest, they are ultimately ideas about all of us -- human beings, certainly, but also the earth we live on and the living things with which we share it.

I am having a really hard time explaining how beautiful this book is. I feel like even the slightest bit about the plot will spoil it too much. I guess I can say that I think you will love this book if you have ever loved a dog or a cat, ever walked through a forest, ever swum in a creek, ever been scared of the meanness of life and the certainty of death, ever lost someone you loved, or ever believed in magic.

When Melissa told me this book is being aimed at children in the 8-12 age range, I was very surprised for multiple reasons. This book is very scary. There are villains, both human and not, that positively exude evil in a very realistic and un-cartoonish way that would have given me nightmares as a child. This book is also very sad. Extremely traumatic events occur that I found almost unbearable to read. For these reasons, I'd like to see this book marketed toward an age group that's a little older. It can obviously be enjoyed by adults, to which Melissa and I can attest, and I think high schoolers would be more emotionally and mentally equipped to grapple with not only the frightening and heartbreaking aspects but the overall ideas of the book, which are quite profound. Let me make clear that I usually veer in the completely opposite direction of wanting to take books out of children's hands because they are scary or sad or hard to understand. But I do think that certain books are more appropriate for older readers than younger readers, and this is definitely one of them.

As noted above, in addition to being sometimes terrifying and often quite sad, this book is also very deep. The title refers to the area underneath a house's porch, but certainly it can be taken a step beyond that -- it also signifies a jar hidden underneath a tree and an alligator hidden underneath the currents of a bayou. Perhaps most of all, though, it signifies the depth of life that glimmers beyond our knowing consciousness, the ancient mysteries of the earth that still resonate beneath the surface, and stories hidden underneath the passage of time.

How the author pulled all of this off with a tale about a hound dog and some cats is a testament to her obviously great (and previously unknown to me) talent. After suffering severe reading burnout this fall, which has never really happened to me before but which I attribute to having read 60 graphic novels over the summer, which almost made my brain fall out, this is the first book I have picked up and gotten all the way through in several months. I am so glad this is the book that has brought me back to books and to reading. It utterly captured both my imagination and my heart. I hope you will also find a place for it in yours.

09/07/2008

My husband's been away for a few days, so there hasn't been much time for writing. I sat down today to write some reviews and instead got sucked into reading The All-Of-A-Kind Family Companion which a thoughtful Betsy-Tacy email list member posted this morning. It is utterly fascinating and has sucked up the better part of the last hour.

08/31/2008

If I go more than a day without posting here, you can be pretty sure it's because I am reading very bad galleys. I have, in fact, been reading some dreadfully bad galleys, galleys of books whose upcoming publishing I don't understand, but I don't want to necessarily say that here because do I need to rain on an author's parade? I haven't yet decided that. So for now, no raining. Just no posting about upcoming books.
Thus, I have invented a new category: books I love fiercely that are out of print. Books whose out-of-printness I do not understand. The first on the list: MOVIE SHOES by Noel Streatfield, originally published in the UK as THE PAINTED GARDEN. It was a toss-up between this and SKATING SHOES (UK title: WHITE BOOTS) but in the end MOVIE SHOES won.
This is inspired by the fact that PARTY SHOES, the only Shoes book I do not own, is back in print. PARTY SHOES is near-impossible to find used at a decent price. I know - I've been looking for years. I am very happy that soon I will own PARTY SHOES, but honestly, if I were going to bring a Shoes book back into print, it would not be PARTY. (It wouldn't be DANCING SHOES, either, which is also in print - it's a fine book but not as good as MOVIE and SKATING.)
Anyway. MOVIE SHOES! Love love love love. Rachel, Tim and Jane Winter live in London with their mother, their father (who was in an accident and is out of work and ill as a result) and their nurse, Peaseblossom (not her real name). Mr. Winter really needs to go somewhere warm for the winter, and has an aunt in California, but the family can't afford to go - until Peaseblossom's aunt conveniently dies and leaves her exactly the amount of money they need to go (ah, children's books!). This is very disappointing to the children - Rachel is at Madame Fidolia's Academy For Dancing and Stage Training and has just been picked for her first professional dancing role; Tim (a talented pianist) has just been offered the chance to play for a famous musician; and Jane will have to leave behind her beloved dog. But off to California they go anyway.
Rachel and Tim are much nicer about it than Jane, who it must be said is more than a bit of a sourpuss. They arrive in California to live with weird, grumpy Aunt Cora, and Mr. Winter starts to feel better. Things improve for Rachel and Tim almost immediately - Mme. Fidolia's arranged for Rachel to take lessons from her famous student, Posy Fossil (from BALLET SHOES), and Tim finds a bit of a job playing the piano in a drugstore for the lunch customers.
Jane is more miserable than ever, and finds herself walking miserably along the beach one day where she finds a dog tied up on a lead. She angrily confronts the dog's owner, who turns out to be a movie director. And Jane turns out to be exactly the kind of personality he wants to play Mary in a movie of THE SECRET GARDEN, despite her never having acted before.
The story of how the movie is made (and what happens to the rest of the family while it's going on) is at turns hilarious, moving, dramatic and fun. The differing personalities of the three siblings remind the reader of Pauline, Petrova and Posy, but the view into the world of movies, dance and classical music make this a very different book. I really have no idea why this book is out of print and wish fervently that Random House would rectify that straight away.